Author’s Notes

In the kitchenA tip to having a flavorful, melty and non-floppy grilled cheese sandwich is to butter and griddle the two slices of bread on both sides – yes – including the inside faces where the cheese will be. Griddling both sides gives the bread more structure to hold up better when the sandwich is sliced diagonally in half (instead of getting squashed). Placing the cheese on the toasty browned inside surfaces also allows it to start melting faster while the outside is being griddled.

Grilled cheese is very versatile and there are hundreds of recipes in books and online that share delicious variations in the types of cheeses, breads, condiments and add-ins of fruits, vegetables, meat and even herbs. My favorite variation is to add a slice of ham or couple slices of bacon and scrambled eggs to make a breakfast sandwich.

In the classroomWhy do different cheeses melt in different ways? Cheese is simply water and fat that are bound together by protein molecules. Cheeses that have a higher water content, like mozzarella, brie, Gruyère and Jack are good melters, while drier cheeses like Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano often separate into clumps or break. That is why those drier cheeses are good for grating and sprinkling on top of food. Some cheeses, like those set with acid, will not melt at all. Acid-set cheese include fresh goat cheese, paneer, queso fresco and ricotta.

In lifeThis poem was inspired by a homeless man getting on public transit and the way people around him pretended that he didn’t exist even though he tried talking to them. Eventually he started to sing to himself and it struck me that no matter what mental state we are in or how different our circumstances may be, we are all still living beings that take enjoyment from certain things like music or food. These joys of life are universal and cut across differences in religion, age, culture, education, income or occupation. I wanted to write a story that exhibited the power of how food, especially a comfort food such as grilled cheese, can bridge those boundaries.